What Users Say about Our Database Virtualization Software…

The single-pane dashboard of VM and physical host performance indicators is a vast improvement over using a combination of tools.

- Manager of Enterprise Database Administration, Indiana University

The installation and setup is very easy, the monitoring has little overhead to the systems being monitored. It is nice to have a tool that combines the database and VM monitoring.

- Database Administrator, Healthcare Company

Optimize Database Performance on VMware

Finally, you can monitor performance of Oracle, DB2, Sybase and SQL Server on VMware within a single tool. The DPA VM Option provides a complete picture in visual charts that are easy to understand. See a direct correlation between SQL query response time and VMware resource metrics. Understand the real impact of VMware configuration and events like vMotion on your database performance. Stop wasting time chasing down the wrong path.

It's the one tool that all DBAs, Developers, DBA managers, and Virtual Administrators can use to quickly pinpoint the root cause of performance issues and prioritize action.

When running databases on VMware servers, there is often concern about performance degradation. In fact, many IT pros find it challenging to monitor and analyze database performance on virtual machines because there is no way to see through the entire stack, from database to resources. VMware tools don’t cover the database layer, and conventional database tools don’t capture meaningful resource information from virtual servers.

For example, what happens if resource contention results from additional VMs being placed on the same host where the database VM is located? Similarly, who will have the visibility needed to monitor how performance is impacted if a VM is moved to another physical host with limited resources?

Resolve Database Virtualization Issues Faster

Resolving problems with databases on VMware can be more time-consuming and complex than for databases on physical servers. Is the cause of the problem on the physical host or the virtual host? Is the cause of the problem related to VMware configuration? Is there a “noisy neighbor” in the virtual environment causing resource contention? Was there a vMotion event in the virtual environment? A great deal of time can be wasted guessing the cause and making fixes that won’t resolve the issue.

With DPA VM Option, DBAs can quickly identify the exact root cause of database application performance issues. Using easy-to-understand bar charts, DPA VM Option gets to the problem quickly and shows objective evidence, so there is no finger-pointing about who is responsible.

DPA VM Option is the only performance solution that shows three key components of the problem: the query affected, the wait event or wait type, and the response time impact of each bottleneck. Finding the exact cause of the problem, from initial alarm to detailed analysis in only four clicks makes DPA VM Option the fastest way to resolve issues for databases on VMware.

Eliminate finger-pointing across the IT team

Often, VM administrator and DBA teams are siloed, making it challenging to find and fix the root cause of performance problems. DPA VM Option allows everyone in IT to collaborate on the performance of applications in a virtualized environment, enabling better service and faster time to market.

With DPA VM Option, virtual administrators can quickly assess the impact of changes in the virtual environment with database performance. Developers have read-only visibility to query performance on production and staging servers, allowing them to incorporate application performance into their development cycles. QA engineers can locate performance issues before deployment and easily communicate these issues to the development team. DBAs are then able to collaborate with the extended IT organization while maintaining 100% control over production databases and monitoring load.

Improve End-User Application Performance

Response Time Analysis helps you make changes that end-users will notice when their apps run faster.

DPA VM Option applies Response Time analysis, measuring the time for query response, rather than focusing on conventional server health metrics. DPA VM Option measures time associated with each tiny operation - or wait type or wait type - and uses it to expose delays in end user service. This is the most important indicator, since it shows applications waiting on the database to respond.

DPA VM Option doesn’t stop there. It gathers real time session data, server resource levels, and query information of your database performance. It also analyzes historical trends of response time over multiple dimensions - such as wait type program, and execution plan. Then DPA VM Option correlates the data to lead the DBA through the most important problems and solutions.

DPA VM Option is built on a three-tier architecture, with software installed only in the middle tier. DBAs, developers, and managers access the solution from their browser. DPA VM Option is installed on Windows® or UNIX®/Linux® servers. The repository database is configured in a SQL Server or Oracle® instance, often a test or development system. DPA VM Option's agentless probes reach across the network to the monitored databases - SQL Server as well as other vendors - and pull performance statistics back to the repository for analysis and reporting.

- "Express" editions of either SQL Server or Oracle can be used for the DPA VM Option repository database, but please note that these free editions do have restrictions that can limit analysis performance and historical repository size for larger deployments.

- To ensure consistent 24/7 monitoring, DPA VM Option should not be installed on a laptop or any other computer that gets powered down frequently.

- DPA VM Option needs to be installed on a server that does not contain monitored instances in order to ensure negligible load on the monitored Instances.

One time entry of a read-only VMware password will be required. The password is encrypted and not visible to DPA end-users.

CPU

Dual core

NOTE: The minimum server requirements listed assume default configuration. Significantly increasing the poll rate or statistic collection rate could result in additional load on the server, which may require a larger CPU or additional memory.

Videos

The VM Option allows you that confidence to move your database onto VMware®. This confidence comes from quickly seeing if your performance problems are related to your VM environment or related to the instance.

Databases are one of the last frontiers for virtualizing into a VMware environment. They can be very resource intensive, so many companies have been hesitant to move them into a virtual environment. Most of the hesitation has come from poor experiences during initial tests of VMware. Many of our customers are successfully running databases inside VMware and the key for them was monitoring the correct metrics that can help show where the bottlenecks are. This paper will review the VMware metrics that helped many companies have a far better virtualization experience.

Product FAQ

Q: How is DPA VM Option licensed??

A: Database Performance Analyzer VM Option is an additional cost add-on option. It is licensed per monitored SQL Server instance and per core on Oracle, DB2 and Sybase (the lesser of vCPUs or physical CPU cores). Using the 100% web-based interface, an unlimited number people, including DBAs, system/virtualization admins, and storage admins can access DPA without additional cost.

DPA’S pricing model makes adding additional monitored instances more affordable and less confusing than the core-based licensing for Oracle®, DB2®, and Sybase® products.

Q: On what server is DPA VM Option installed?

A: It is recommended that DPA is installed on a non-production Windows, Linux or UNIX server. No software is installed on the database servers to be monitored.

Q: Are there agents or other DPA VM Option software installed on the database instance to be monitored?

A: No, DPA VM Option is agentless, and places less than 1% load on the monitored server. Nothing is installed on the monitored servers or VM.

Q: What is involved in running a DPA VM Option trial?

A: A free trial is instantly available by downloading DPA from this site. The install takes just minutes, and as soon as data is captured, you’ll begin seeing results. A free trial key enables unrestricted usage across an unlimited number of servers for a 14-day period. After purchase the license key will unlock these time restrictions.

Q: Which databases can DPA VM Option monitor?

A: All downloads of DPA contain the ability to monitor SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, and Sybase on bare metal, VMware, Windows, or Linux/UNIX. There are only two different downloads of DPA: one for Windows, and oone for Linux/UNIX installation.